20. Each of two or more Owners of a prior estate to be the sole Protector as to his share. 21. Where a married Woman alone shall where she and her husband together shall be the Pro tector. charge on any lands shall not be deemed an estate within the meaning of this Clause. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That where two or more persons shall be Owners, under a settlement within the meaning of this Act, of a prior estate, the sole Owner of which estate, if there had been only one, would in respect thereof have been the Protector of such settlement, each of such persons in respect of such undivided share as he might lawfully dispose of shall for all the purposes of this Act be deemed the Owner of a prior estate, and shall, in exclusion of the other or others of them, be the sole Protector of such settlement to the extent of such undivided share. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That where a married be the Protector and Woman would, if single, be the Protector of a settlement in respect of a prior estate which is not thereby settled or agreed, or directed to be settled to her separate use, she and her Husband together shall in respect of such estate be the Protector of such settlement, and shall be deemed one Owner; but if such prior estate shall by such settlement have been settled or agreed or directed to be settled to her separate use, then and in such case she alone shall in respect of such estate be the Protector of such settlement. 22. An Estate confirmed or restored by a Settlement shall as to the Protector be an Estate under such Settlement. 23. The Owner of a lease at a rent created or confirmed by a settlement, not to be the Protector. 24. No Tenant in dower, Heir, executor, administrator or assign, to be the Protector. 25. Who shall be the Protector, where the Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That except in the case of a Lease hereinafter provided for, where an estate shall be limited by a settlement by way of confirmation, or where the settlement shall merely have the effect of restoring an estate, in either of those cases such estate shall for the purposes of this Act, so far as regards the Protector of the settlement, be deemed an estate subsisting under such settlement. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That where a Lease at a rent shall be created or confirmed by a settlement, the person in whose favour such Lease shall be created or confirmed shall not in respect thereof be the Protector of such settlement. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That no Woman in respect of her dower, and no Heir, executor, administrator or assign in respect of any estate taken by him as such Heir, executor, administrator or assign, shall be the Protector of a settlement. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That where under any Settlement there shall be more than one estate prior to an estate tail, and the person who shall be the owner, within the meaning of this Act, of any such prior estate, shall by virtue of the two last preceding Clauses, or either of them, be excluded from being by virtue of such estate the Protector of the settlement, then and in such case the person, if any, who if such estate did not exist would be the Protector of the settlement, shall be such Protector. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Provided 5 15 Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That if the Protector of a Settlement shall be lunatic, idiot, or of unsound mind, and whether he shall have been found such by Inquisition or not, it shall be lawful for the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or the Lord Keeper or the Lords Commissioners for the custody of the Great Seal of Great Britain for the time being, or other the person or persons for the time being intrusted by the King's Sign Manual with the care and commitment of the custody of the persons and estates of persons found lunatic, idiot, and of unsound mind, by an Order to be made in a summary 10 way, upon the petition of a Tenant in tail under such settlement, who shall be desirous of making a Disposition under this Act, to appoint any person whom such Lord High Chancellor, Lord Keeper or Lords Commissioners, or person or persons so intrusted as aforesaid, shall think proper to be, in lieu of the person who shall be such lunatic or idiot or of unsound mind as aforesaid, the Protector of such Settlement, for the purpose of consenting to any particular disposition proposed to be made by such Tenant in tail under this Act: Provided always, That where a Husband and Wife together shall be the Protector of the Settlement, and either of them shall be lunatic, idiot, or of unsound mind, 20 and he or she shall not have been found such by Inquisition, then it shall be lawful for such Lord High Chancellor, Lord Keeper or Lords Commissioners, or person or persons so intrusted as aforesaid, to appoint any person whom such Lord High Chancellor, Lord Keeper or Lords Commissioners, or person or persons so intrusted as aforesaid, shall think 25 proper, to be, together with the Husband or Wife (as the case may be) who shall not be such lunatic, idiot, or of unsound mind as aforesaid, the Protector of such Settlement, for the purpose of consenting to any particular disposition proposed to be made by such Tenant in tail under this Act, or to order and direct the Husband or Wife (as the case may 30 be) who shall not be such lunatic, idiot, or of unsound mind as aforesaid, to be the sole Protector of such Settlement for the above purpose: Provided also, That where a Husband and Wife together shall be the Protector of such Settlement, and either of them shall be lunatic, idiot, or of unsound mind, and he or she shall have been found such by inquisition, 35 then and in such case the other of them shall, during the joint lives of himself or herself and the person so found lunatic, idiot, or of unsound mind, or until the Commission upon which the inquisition was founded shall be superseded, be the sole Protector of such Settlement. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That if at the time when 40 any person, actual Tenant in tail of Lands under a settlement, but not entitled to the remainder or reversion in fee immediately expectant on the determination of his estate tail, shall be desirous of making under this Act a Disposition of the Lands entailed, there shall be a Protector of such settlement, then and in every such case the consent of such Protector shall be requisite to enable such actual Tenant in tail to dispose of the Lands entailed to the full extent to which he is hereinbefore authorized to dispose of the same; but such actual Tenant in tail may without such consent make a disposition under this Act of the Lands entailed, which shall be good against all persons who, by force 28. Where a Base Fee, who would have the estate tail, if not barred, to exercise his power of disposition. 29. The Protector shall not be a Trustee in respect of his power of consent; and any Agreement to with hold it void. 30. A voidable Estate by a tenant in tail in favour of a Pur chaser confirmed by a subsequent disposition of such this Act. of 5 Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That where an Estate Tail shall have been converted into a Base Fee, in such case, so long as there shall be a Protector of the settlement by which the estate tail was created, the consent of such Protector shall be requisite to enable the person who would have been tenant of the estate tail, if the same had not been barred, to exercise, as to the lands in respect of which 10 there shall be such Protector, the power of disposition hereinbefore contained. And be it further Enacted, That the Protector of a Settlement shall not be deemed to be a trustee in respect of his power of consent; and any agreement entered into by him to withhold his consent shall be 15 absolutely void; and a court of equity shall not control or interfere to restrain the exercise of the power of consent, nor treat the giving of the consent as a breach of trust. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That when a Tenant in tail of Lands under a settlement shall have already created or shall 20 hereafter create in such lands, or any of them, a voidable estate in favour of a purchaser for valuable consideration, and shall afterwards tenant in tail under under this Act, by any assurance other than a lease not requiring registration, make a disposition of the lands in which such voidable estate shall be created, or any of them, such disposition, whatever its object 25 may be, and whatever may be the extent of the estate intended to be thereby created, shall, if made with the consent of the Protector of the Settlement, or if there shall be no such Protector, have the effect of confirming such voidable estate in the lands thereby disposed of to its full extent as against all persons, except those whose rights are saved 30 by this Act; but if at the time of making the disposition there shall be a Protector of the Settlement, and such Protector shall not consent to the disposition, and the voidable estate shall have been created on or before the Thirty-first day of December One thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, then and in such case such disposition shall have the effect 35 of confirming such voidable estate, so far as such Tenant in tail would then be capable of making a disposition of such lands under this Act without such consent. 31. Base Fees, when united with the im mediate reversions, enlarged instead of being merged. And be it further Enacted, That if at any time after the passing of this Act a person entitled to a Base Fee in any Lands shall 40 become entitled to the remainder or reversion in fee in the same lands, and there shall be no intermediate estate between the base fee and the remainder or reversion, then and in such case the base fee shall not merge, but shall be ipso facto enlarged into as large an estate as the Tenant in tail, with the consent of the Protector, if any, might have created by any disposition under this Act if such remainder or reversion had been vested in any other person. And 5 And be it further Enacted, That any Disposition of Lands under this Act by a Tenant in tail thereof shall be effected by any assurance other than a will or an executory agreement by which the estate created or enlarged by such disposition could have been conveyed by the Tenant in tail, if at the time of his making the disposition he had been seised of or entitled to such lands for an estate in fee-simple absolute; and if the Tenant in tail making the disposition shall be a married woman, the concurrence of her husband shall be necessary to give effect to the same; and any deed which may be executed by her for effecting the 10 disposition shall be acknowledged by her as hereinafter directed. And be it further Enacted, That the consent of the Protector of a Settlement to the disposition under this Act of a Tenant in tail shall be given either by the same assurance by which the disposition shall be effected, or by a Deed distinct from the assurance, and to be executed 15 either on or at any time before the day on which the Assurance shall be made. And be it further Enacted, That if the Protector of a Settlement shall by a distinct Deed give his consent to the disposition of a Tenant in tail, it shall be considered that such Protector has given an absolute 20 and unqualified consent, unless in such Deed he shall refer to the particular Assurance by which the disposition shall be effected, and shall confine his consent to the disposition thereby made. And be it further Enacted, That it shall not be lawful for the Protector of a Settlement who under this Act shall have given his consent to 25 the disposition of a Tenant in tail, to revoke such consent. 30 35 And be it further Enacted, That any married Woman, being either alone or jointly with her Husband Protector of a Settlement, may under this Act, in the same manner as if she were a Feme sole, give her consent to the disposition of a Tenant in tail. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That the consent of a Protector to the disposition of a Tenant in tail shall, if given by a Deed distinct from the Assurance by which the Disposition shall be effected by the Tenant in tail, be absolutely void, unless the Deed be registered either at or before the time when the Assurance shall be registered. And be it further Enacted, That all the previous Clauses in this Act, so far as circumstances and the different tenures will admit, shall apply to Lands held by copy of court-roll, except that a disposition of any such Lands under this Act by a Tenant in tail thereof, whose estate shall be an estate at law, shall be made by surrender, and except that 40 a disposition of any such Lands under this Act by a Tenant in tail thereof, whose estate shall be merely an estate in equity, may be made either by Surrender or by a Deed as hereinafter provided, and except so far as such Clauses are otherwise altered and varied by the Clauses hereinafter contained. 39. As to the Deed of Settlement of Copy- Tail. 5 Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That if the consent of the Protector of a Settlement to the disposition of lands held by copy of court-roll by a Tenant in tail thereof shall be given by deed, such deed shall either at or before the time when the surrender shall be made by which the disposition shall be effected, be executed by such Protector, sition of a Tenant in and produced to the lord or steward of the manor of which the lands are parcel; and the consent of such Protector shall be absolutely void unless such deed shall be so executed and produced; and on the production of the deed, the lord or steward shall by writing under his hand, to be indorsed on the deed, acknowledge that the same was pro- 10 duced within the time limited, and shall cause such deed, with the indorsement thereon, to be entered on the court-rolls of the manor; and the indorsement, purporting to be so signed, shall of itself be primâ facie evidence that the deed was produced within the time limited, and that the person who signed the indorsement was the lord or 15 steward of the manor; and the entry of such deed and indorsement on the court-rolls of the manor, or a copy of such entry, shall be as available for the purposes of evidence as any other entry on the courtrolls, or a copy thereof. 40. As to the consent of the Protector of a holds, when not given by Deed, and the preserving of Evidence of the same on the Court Rolls. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That if the consent of 20 settlement of Copy- the Protector of a Settlement to the disposition of lands held by copy of court-roll by a Tenant in tail thereof, shall not be given by deed, then and in such case the consent shall be given by the Protector to the person taking the surrender by which the disposition shall be effected; and if the surrender shall be made out of court, it shall be 25 expressly stated in the memorandum of such surrender that such consent had been given, and such memorandum shall be signed by the Protector; and the lord or steward of the manor of which the Lands are parcel, shall cause the memorandum, with such statement therein as to the consent, to be entered on the court-rolls of the manor; and 30 such memorandum shall be good evidence of the consent and of the surrender therein stated to be made; and the entry of the memorandum on the court-rolls, or a copy of such entry, shall be as available for the purposes of evidence as any other entry on the court-rolls, or a copy thereof; but if the surrender shall be made in court, the lord or 35 steward of the manor shall cause an entry of such surrender, containing a statement that such consent had been given, to be made on the courtrolls, and the entry of such surrender on the court-rolls, or a copy of such entry, shall be as available for the purposes of evidence as any other entry on the court-rolls, or a copy thereof. 41. Power to equitable Tenants in Tail of Copyholds to dispose of their Lands by Deed. Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That a Tenant in tail of Lands held by copy of court-roll, whose estate shall be merely an estate in equity, shall have full power to dispose of such lands under this Act, in the same manner in every respect as he could have done if they had been of freehold tenure; and all the previous Clauses in this Act shall, so far as circumstances will admit, apply to the Lands in respect 40 |